# CLT or PJ, what the invoice must be worth

> To match a CLT salary of R$ 5.000,00, the PJ invoice must be **R$ 6.940,71** a month, 39% more, under the Simples Nacional, Annex III.

With carteira, you get R$ 5.384,62 a month on average, counting 13º (an extra month's pay each year), férias (annual vacation) and FGTS (Fundo de Garantia do Tempo de Serviço, a severance savings fund). With an invoice equal to the salary, the PJ (pessoa jurídica, working through your own company) would keep R$ 3.730,02. The employer spends R$ 7.722,23 on the CLT (Consolidação das Leis do Trabalho, Brazil's labor code) worker, so it can pay that invoice and still save R$ 1.359,91 a month.

Simples Nacional (simplified tax regime for small businesses) by LC 123 of 2006 and Lucro Presumido (presumed-profit tax regime). INSS (Instituto Nacional do Seguro Social, Brazil's social security) and income tax by the tables in force since January 2026. Profit rules by Law 15.270 of 2025.

Calculated with R$ 5.000,00 in the field “CLT salary offered”. PJ in the Simples Nacional, Annex III, with a 28% pró-labore (owner's monthly pay), accountant and fees of R$ 400 a month, an estimate, PJ with 30 days a year without billing.

A PJ needs a higher invoice because it pays its own taxes, its INSS and an accountant. A PJ also gets no 13º, no paid férias and no FGTS, and the calculation allows for 30 days a year without billing.

Both sides are compared in an average month of the year. For the CLT side, that is the money in hand plus the FGTS. For the PJ side, it is the 11 invoices of the year divided by 12, after taxes and the accountant.

## What this calculation compares

On one side is CLT, the employee with carteira assinada (formal employment, registered in the work card). The calculation adds up what reaches their hand over the whole year, with the 13º and the 1/3 de férias (one-third vacation bonus), plus the FGTS deposited. Everything is divided by 12.

On the other side is PJ, short for pessoa jurídica, a person who opens a company and issues an invoice every month. In Brazil the invoice is called nota fiscal. Out of it come the company taxes, the INSS, the income tax on the pró-labore and the accountant.

The 40% FGTS fine is left out. It only exists if the CLT employee is dismissed without justa causa (serious misconduct), and nobody knows if that will happen.

By default, the PJ spends 30 days a year without billing. That is the fair way to compare with the CLT employee, who has paid férias. If the PJ works all 12 months, change that option.

## Who counts as an employee under the law

The CLT does not look at the name of the contract. It looks at how the work happens day to day.

> Considera-se empregado toda pessoa física que prestar serviços de natureza não eventual a empregador, sob a dependência deste e mediante salário.
>
> (CLT, art. 3º)

In English, an employee is someone who works in person, on a regular basis, takes orders and is paid for it. If those points are met, the carteira is mandatory, with or without a company in the middle.

> Considera-se empregador a empresa individual ou coletiva, que, assumindo os riscos de atividade econômica, admite, assalaria e dirige a prestação pessoal de serviços.
>
> (CLT, art. 2º)

In English, an employer is whoever hires, pays and directs the work of a specific person. If a company acts that way with a PJ, it acts as an employer.

## A PJ contract that hides a job

Hiring a PJ is legal when the person works independently. The 2017 labor reform wrote that into the CLT.

> A contratação do autônomo, cumpridas por este todas as formalidades legais, com ou sem exclusividade, de forma contínua ou não, afasta a qualidade de empregado prevista no art. 3º desta Consolidação.
>
> (CLT, art. 442-B)

In English, a truly independent worker does not become an employee just for working a long time or for a single client. What matters is having independence in the work.

When the PJ works just like an employee, with hours, a boss and orders, the contract serves to hide the carteira. In Brazil that disguise has a name, pejotização, and the law voids it.

> Serão nulos de pleno direito os atos praticados com o objetivo de desvirtuar, impedir ou fraudar a aplicação dos preceitos contidos na presente Consolidação.
>
> (CLT, art. 9º)

In English, a contract made to escape the CLT is not valid. The court ignores the paper and applies the rules of carteira assinada, with all the rights.

## What the courts look at to recognize the job

At the Justiça do Trabalho, the judge checks whether the points of art. 3º of the CLT are present. What actually happens counts, not what the contract says. If even one point is missing, there is no employment.

- Personal work. You do it yourself, and you cannot send someone else in your place.
- Regular work, which the law calls não eventual. You work continuously, as part of the company routine.
- Subordination. The company directs your work, sets hours, demands targets, approves days off and can punish you.
- Payment. You get money for the work every month, like a salary.
- A natural person. The worker is a person, even if paid through a company opened only for that.

People who prove pejotização usually show messages with orders, time control, a company email, a badge and witnesses. Having several clients and deciding how you do the work weighs in favor of the PJ contract.

If the court recognizes the job, the company pays the carteira rights for the whole period. That includes the 13º, férias with 1/3, the FGTS with the fine and the aviso prévio (notice period), within the time limit for the claim.

## What a PJ stops getting

The calculation above already weighs the 13º, the férias and the FGTS. Other rights have no fixed price, but they matter when things go wrong.

- 13º salário and férias paid with an extra 1/3.
- FGTS of 8% a month and the 40% fine on dismissal without justa causa.
- Seguro-desemprego (unemployment insurance), which only exists for people with carteira assinada.
- Aviso prévio of 30 to 90 days, depending on time at the company.
- Paid leave and job security, such as for pregnant workers and after a work accident.
- Overtime, night pay and what the trade wins in its collective agreement.
- Retirement and sick pay based on the whole salary, not only on the pró-labore.

To see what some of them are worth, try the [seguro-desemprego](https://simplesclt.com.br/en/beneficios/seguro-desemprego) and [severance](https://simplesclt.com.br/en/rescisao/calculo-da-rescisao) calculators.

## How a PJ pays taxes

People who provide intellectual services as a PJ usually choose between the Simples Nacional and the Lucro Presumido. The calculator covers the three most common cases.

In the Simples Nacional, taxes are paid on a single slip, the DAS (Documento de Arrecadação do Simples Nacional). The rate rises with what the company billed in the last 12 months. The city ISS (municipal tax on services) and the employer INSS are already inside it.

Services such as consulting, technology and engineering fall in Annex V, the more expensive one. They move to Annex III, the cheaper one, if the company has a high payroll. That is called fator R.

> As atividades de prestação de serviços a que se refere o § 5º-I serão tributadas na forma do Anexo III desta Lei Complementar caso a razão entre a folha de salários e a receita bruta da pessoa jurídica seja igual ou superior a 28% (vinte e oito por cento).
>
> (Complementary Law 123/2006, art. 18, § 5º-J)

In English, if the company pays at least 28% of what it bills in salaries and pró-labore, it uses the cheaper table. That is why many PJs take a pró-labore of 28% of the invoice.

In Annex III with fator R, the calculator sets the pró-labore at 28% of billing. In Annex V, it uses a pró-labore of 1 minimum wage, R$ 1.621,00.

In the Lucro Presumido, the law assumes the profit is 32% of service billing. On that, the company pays 15% of corporate income tax and 9% of CSLL (social contribution on company profits). On top come 0,65% of PIS (Social Integration Program) and 3% of Cofins on the whole invoice.

In the Lucro Presumido the ISS is paid separately, 2% to 5% depending on the city. The calculation starts at 5%, the top rate, which many state capitals charge for consulting. If your city charges less, change the ISS.

## Pró-labore, INSS and profit

Pró-labore is the salary a partner takes from their own company for their work. On it, the partner pays 11% of INSS, up to the ceiling, and income tax by the same table as a salary.

In the Lucro Presumido, the company also pays 20% of INSS on the pró-labore. In the Simples, that part is already inside the DAS.

What is left after taxes, pró-labore and the accountant is profit. Profit paid out to the partner is free of income tax up to R$ 50.000,00 a month from the same company.

> Consideram-se isentos do imposto de renda, na fonte e na declaração de ajuste do beneficiário, os valores efetivamente pagos ou distribuídos ao titular ou sócio da microempresa ou empresa de pequeno porte optante pelo Simples Nacional, salvo os que corresponderem a pró-labore, aluguéis ou serviços prestados.
>
> (Complementary Law 123/2006, art. 14)

In English, profit received by the partner of a Simples company pays no income tax. The pró-labore does, because it is payment for work.

The full exemption depends on complete bookkeeping, done by the accountant. Without it, the tax-free profit of a service company only reaches 32% of billing, minus the DAS.

This page assumes that bookkeeping, as art. 14, § 2º, of the same law allows. Ask your accountant to keep it up to date.

Since January 2026, Law 15.270 of 2025 requires 10% to be withheld when profit paid in the month goes over R$ 50.000,00. The withholding applies to the whole amount, not only to what went over the limit.

People who receive more than R$ 600.000,00 in the year may still owe a yearly minimum tax, created by the same law. That yearly adjustment is left out of this calculation.

## Example with the salary you typed

**What a CLT employee on R$ 5.000,00 gets, monthly average**

| | |
|---|---:|
| Money in hand, with 13º and 1/3 de férias | R$ 4.940,18 |
| FGTS deposited | R$ 444,44 |
| **CLT, monthly average** | **R$ 5.384,62** |

**PJ in the Simples, Annex III, invoicing R$ 6.940,71**

| | |
|---|---:|
| Invoices for the year, divided by 12 | R$ 6.362,32 |
| DAS at 6% | − R$ 381,74 |
| Partner INSS on a pró-labore of R$ 1.781,45 | − R$ 195,96 |
| Income tax on the pró-labore | − R$ 0,00 |
| Accountant and fees | − R$ 400,00 |
| **What the PJ keeps, monthly average** | **R$ 5.384,62** |

That is 11 invoices a year, because the PJ spends 30 days without billing. They are divided by 12 to compare with the CLT.

## The retirement base on each side

The INSS works out retirement from the average of the salários de contribuição. That is the amount on which the person paid INSS, up to the ceiling of R$ 8.475,55.

For a CLT employee, the salário de contribuição is the whole salary, up to the ceiling. With a salary of R$ 5.000,00, it is R$ 5.000,00 a month.

For a PJ, only the pró-labore counts. In Annex III with fator R, it reaches R$ 1.781,45. In Annex V and in the Lucro Presumido it stays at R$ 1.621,00, and retirement tends to come out at the minimum.

A PJ who wants a bigger pension can raise the pró-labore. The cost is more INSS and, above the exemption, more income tax.

## When being a PJ is worth it

A PJ can take home more money than a CLT employee. For that, the invoice must be well above the salary. With R$ 5.000,00, it only breaks even at 39% more.

Companies often accept a higher invoice because a CLT employee costs them R$ 7.722,23 a month, averaged over the year. Invoices of R$ 6.940,71 over the year, divided by 12, come to R$ 6.362,32. So the company saves R$ 1.359,91 a month.

PJ makes sense for people who work independently, serve more than one client and save money for months without invoices. Without savings, an illness or the end of the contract hits much harder.

## If you are a PJ but work like an employee

1. Keep proof of the daily routine, such as messages with orders, hours, targets and requests for days off.
2. Write down how much you got each month and since when you have worked for the company.
3. Go to the union of your trade or the Superintendência Regional do Trabalho (regional labor inspection office) for guidance.
4. If you want to claim your rights, file a claim at the Justiça do Trabalho up to 2 years after leaving. The claim covers the last 5 years.

If the job is recognized, the company pays the 13º, the férias, the FGTS with the fine and the other rights for the period. To see how much that is, use the [severance calculator](https://simplesclt.com.br/en/rescisao/calculo-da-rescisao).

## Words of the law, in English

- **13º salário** (an extra month's pay each year). An extra month of salary each year, paid in two installments. The first comes by November 30 and the second by December 20. If you worked only part of the year, you get 1/12 for each month worked.
- **férias** (annual vacation). Thirty days of paid rest after every 12 months of work. The employer pays the salary for those days plus one third extra, up to 2 days before they start.
- **carteira assinada** (formal employment, registered in the work card). Formal employment, with the contract recorded in the carteira de trabalho, which is digital today. It gives you FGTS, férias, 13º, INSS and seguro-desemprego.
- **terço de férias** (one-third vacation bonus). The extra amount added to the férias pay, equal to one third of it. It is a right in the Constitution, so the employer cannot leave it out.
- **pró-labore** (owner's monthly pay). The monthly pay business owners give themselves for working in their own company. It pays INSS, like a salary.
- **justa causa** (serious misconduct). Dismissal for serious misconduct by the worker, such as theft, abandoning the job or assault. Whoever leaves with justa causa loses the aviso prévio, the prorated férias and 13º, the FGTS fine and the seguro-desemprego.
- **aviso prévio** (notice period). The notice one side gives the other before ending the contract. It is 30 days, plus 3 days for each full year at the company, up to 90 days when the employer dismisses you.
- **seguro-desemprego** (unemployment insurance). Unemployment pay from the government for people dismissed without justa causa. It comes in 3 to 5 installments, depending on how long you worked. The amount depends on the average of your last salaries.
- **Simples Nacional** (simplified tax regime for small businesses). A simpler tax regime for small companies. It changes what the employer pays on your salary, but not your own deductions.
- **Lucro Presumido** (presumed-profit tax regime). A tax regime in which the company pays tax on a profit the law presumes, not on its real profit.
- **salário de contribuição** (INSS contribution base). The amount your INSS contribution is calculated on, usually your gross salary, up to the INSS ceiling.

## How much to charge as a PJ to match your CLT salary?

With a CLT salary of R$ 5.000,00, the invoice must be R$ 6.940,71 a month in Annex III of the Simples, 39% more than the salary. With a carteira, you get R$ 5.384,62 a month on average, counting the FGTS.

In Annex V the invoice would have to be R$ 7.698,24, and in the Lucro Presumido, R$ 8.197,30.

## PJ in the Simples or the Lucro Presumido, which is better?

For most salaries, Annex III of the Simples, with fator R. To match a CLT salary of R$ 5.000,00, Annex III of the Simples needs the lowest invoice. It is R$ 757,53 below the invoice for Annex V of the Simples and R$ 1.256,59 below the one for Lucro Presumido.

The Lucro Presumido gets better when the city ISS is lower and billing grows.

## Does a PJ retire with less?

Usually, yes. With a CLT salary of R$ 5.000,00, the INSS counts R$ 5.000,00 a month. As a PJ in Annex III, it counts the pró-labore of R$ 1.781,45.

In Annex V and in the Lucro Presumido, with a pró-labore of 1 minimum wage, the base stays at R$ 1.621,00.

## PJ invoice that matches each CLT salary in 2026

| CLT salary | Simples, Annex III | Simples, Annex V | Lucro Presumido |
|---|---|---|---|
| R$ 2.000,00 | R$ 3.254,91 | R$ 3.620,84 | R$ 4.079,46 |
| R$ 3.000,00 | R$ 4.524,93 | R$ 5.033,65 | R$ 5.506,29 |
| R$ 5.000,00 | R$ 6.940,71 | R$ 7.698,24 | R$ 8.197,30 |
| R$ 10.000,00 | R$ 11.462,03 | R$ 12.563,07 | R$ 13.110,39 |
| R$ 15.000,00 | R$ 16.856,22 | R$ 18.396,94 | R$ 18.941,38 |
| R$ 20.000,00 | R$ 22.982,77 | R$ 24.346,68 | R$ 24.772,37 |

With 30 days a year without billing, accountant and fees of R$ 400,00 a month and ISS of 5% in the Lucro Presumido.

## How this calculation works

The CLT side gets, as a monthly average, the money in hand over the whole year, with 13º and 1/3 de férias, plus the FGTS. The FGTS fine is left out.

The PJ issues 11 invoices a year, or 12 with no time off. The calculation divides everything by 12, as on the CLT side.

Company taxes come from Annex III or V of the Simples Nacional, or from the Lucro Presumido with the ISS separate.

The partner pays 11% of INSS and income tax by the monthly table on the pró-labore. Profit is tax-free up to R$ 50.000,00 a month.

The invoice that breaks even is found by trial, going up or down until the PJ keeps the same as the CLT employee.

## Keep going

- [What a CLT employee costs the company](https://simplesclt.com.br/en/clt-pj/custo-do-funcionario)
- [How much reaches the account with carteira assinada](https://simplesclt.com.br/en/salario/salario-liquido)
- [What you get when you leave the company](https://simplesclt.com.br/en/rescisao/calculo-da-rescisao)

Live calculator at https://simplesclt.com.br/en/clt-pj/comparar-clt-e-pj